The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1887-08-18

prefers by gesticulation and exclamation
to express his devotional aspirations.
One is just as good as the other. Every
man fully persuaded in his own mind. -
George Whitefeld was going over
Quaker rather roughly for some OF his
religious sentiments, and the Quaker
said: George, am as thou art; l am for
bringing all men to the hope of the Cos
pei; therefore, if thou wilt not quarrel
with me about my broad brim l will not
quarrel with thee about thy black gown.
George, give me thy hand"
l. In tracing out the religion of sec
tarianism, of bigotry, l find that a great
deal of it comes from wrong education
in the home circle. There are parents
who do not think it wrong to caricature
and jeer the peculiar forms of religion in
the world, and denounce other sects and
other denominations. 1t is very often
the case that that kind of education acts
Just opposite to what was expected, and
the children grow up and, after while,
go and see for themselves, and looking in
those churches and finding that the
people are good there, and they love God
and keep his commandments. by natural
reaction they go and join those very
churches. | could mention the names of
prominent ministers of the Gospel who
spent their whole lives bombarding other
denominations and who lived to see their
children preach the Gospel in those very
denominations. But it is often the case
that bigotry starts in a household and
that the subject of it never RECEIVERS.
There are tens of thousands of bigots 10
years old.
1 think sectarianism and bigotry also
rise from too great prominence of any
one denomination in community. All
the other denominations are wrong, and
his denomination is right because his de-
nomination is the most wealthy, or the
most popular, or the most influential,
and it is ''our" church and "our" reli-
gious organization, and "our" choir and
''our" minister, and the man tosses is
head and wants other denominations to
know their places. 1t is a great deal
better in any community when the great
denominations of Christians are about
equal in power, marching side by side for
the worlds conquest. Mere outside
prosperity, mere worldly power, is no
evidence that the church is acceptable to
| God. Better a barn with Christ in the
manger than a cathedral with magnifi-
cent harmonies rolling through the long
drawn aisle, and an angel from heaven
in the pulpit, if there be no Christ in the
chancel and no Christ in the robes. Bigo-
! try is often the child of ignorance.
You seldom fad a man with large in
tellect who is bigot. Ii is the man who
! thinks he knows great deal, but .doea
not. That man is almost always bigot.
The whole tendency of education and
civilization is to bring a man cut of that
! kind of state of mind and heart. There
was in the far east great obelislz, and
one side of the obelisk was white, an
other side of the obelisk was green, an
| other side of the obelisk was blue and
! travellers went and looked at that obelisk,
but they did not walk around it. One
man looked at one side, another at au-
other side and they came home, each one
| looking at only one side; and they hap
pened to meet, the story says, and they
got into a rank quarrel about the color of
that Ohalisk. One man said it was white,
another man said i was green, another
man said it was blue. and when they
were in the very heat Of the controversy
a more intelligent traveller came and said:
Gentlemen, l have seen that obelisk
and you are AL right, and you are all
wrong. Why didn't you Wslk all around
the obelisk?'
| Look out for the man who sees only
one side of a religious truth. Look out
| for the man who never walks around
about these great theories of God and
eternity and the dead. He will be bigot
inevitably-the man who only sees one
| side. There is no man more to be pitied
than he who has in his head just one idea
no more, no less. More light, less
sectarianisIn. There is nothing that will
so soon kill bigotry as sunshine-God' S
sunshine.
II. So have set before you what. I
consider to be the causes of bigotry.
have set before you the origin of this
great evil. What are some of the bale
full effects? First of all it cripples investi-
cation, You are wrong, and l am right,
and that ends it, No taste for exploration,
no spirit of investigation. From the
glorious realm of Gods truth, over
which an archangel might fly from eter-
nifty to eternity and not reach the limit,
the man shuts himself out and dies, q
blind mole under corn shock. It stops
all investigation.
While each denomination of Christians
is to present all the truths of the Bible, ii
seems to me that God has given TO each
denomination an especial mission to give
particular emphasis to some one doctrine;
and SO the Calvanistic churches must pre-
sent the sovereignty Of God, and the
| y
free agency, and the Episcopal churches
must pressat the Importance of order
and solemn ceremony, and the Baptist
churches must present the necessity OF
ordinances, and the Congregations
church must present the responsibility Of
the individual member, and the Metho
dist church must show what holy enthu
siasm, hearty congregational singing cal
accomplish While each denomination
of Christians must set forth all the doc
crimes of the Bible, feel it is especially
incumbent upon each denomination Il
put particular emphasis on some one doc
trine. q
Another great damage done by the
sectarianisIp and bigotry of the churcl
is that it disgusts people with the Chris
tan religion. Now, my friends, the
Church of God was never intended for {
war barrack. People are afraid of {
riot. You go down the street and you
see an excitemesE, and missiles flying
through the air, and you hear the shocl
of firearms. Do you, the peaceful anC
industrious citizen, go through tha
street? Oh, no! you will say, I'm g
around the block" Now, men com,
and look upon this narrow path TO heav
en-, and sometimes see the ecclesiastical
brickbats flying every whittier, and the.
: say, "Well, guess I'll take the broat
road; if it is SO rough. and there is 81
! much sharp shooting on the narrow road
l l guess I'll try the broad road"
Francis so hated the Lutherans tha
he said if he thought there was one dro
of Lutheran blood in his veins he weult
!. puncture them and let that irop out
I J,,,A ,s Io,,o, 90 fla,., 10 ,,,,i j, tx-1 a